First thing: Love the author and her Cafe Latte series on TikTok! I was very excited to have been given the ARC for her newest novel and while it was not my cup of tea, the story is still one of a kind and I will continue to support C in all future endeavors!

Alongi masterfully weaves a story of trauma, healing, and resistance as we follow Khana who has been bound to the Immortal Emperor as his concubine since she was a child until she discovers his greatest secret and flees as far as she can.

I really appreciated the care that went into dealing with the various mental scars each of these characters carried and the way that healing was not linear or simple for any of the characters. There was a beauty in the stories of survival that we got. I particularly loved the found family element to this story as Khana was able to forge a new life for herself and able to have agency over her choices.

One of the things that I can find frustrating in books is when there is a bigger battle and the cost of war is not properly balanced however Alongi managed to expertly do this in a really unique way.

I am just blown away by this book.

This is an amazing book but please head the trigger warnings in it. If you are at the point in your life where a book with SA will harm your mental health, do not read this. Although there are no graphic scenes, and we are only told it has happened, Khana is dealing with the trauma of years of abuse throughout the entire book. Other triggers include domestic violence, war, violent death, racism/xenophobia, consensual sex (the author said explicit, but it isn't at all, although that depends on what you consider explicit). Please remember to take care of your mental health. I know tons of people were excited to read this book, but it may not be the right time (or ever) to read it. That is so much more important than reading this book (if it helps your mental health, we can all tell you it was terrible).

I really am not huge on the fantasy genre but absolutely love this author. I absolutely loved the story and the characters. There are very heavy topics in this book, and I love that it wasn't just written as 'yes it happened but trauma isn't a thing' and just moved on with the story. I hate when authors write traumatic events like that.

Not sure if there are any plans for a sequel, but I would love to see one. Definitely would recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for the free Kindle book! My opinions are my own and are freely given.

The Witch Who Trades with Death is the story of Khana, our fmc, who is running away from a terrible situation, and finds herself a new community and new life. She is a witch who can breathe in the soul of others and transfer them to either herself or others to heal wounds and give life. Imagine how useful that could be in battle....

The world building is done well - it's easy to envision the environment, the communities, the climate, and the different characters. You can sense the implacabliity of the Emperor, the fear of the people, and the defiance of those in Pahuuda.

There is a small group of protagonists that the reader invests in - a motley crew of rejects who form their own family. Each, of course, has their own backstory, fears, and history. I found that although I can see them in my head, I don't necessarily feel any strong loyalty towards them, possibly because there wasn't much in terms of physical descriptions.

The writing is where I find the book fell a bit flat. Someparts of the writing were lyrical and sophisticated, yet others felt childish, especially with the use of words like "cute", "adorable", and "squishy". This is an alternate universe, so there really isn't the concept of anachronisms, but the babyish words and other colloquialisms felt startling and out of place. Some of the sentences and descriptions felt overly simplistic, which felt jarring against the vast and sophisticated world the author was trying to build.

Overall, I think there was just a lack of passion and big feelings that made me not really connect with the story. The characters felt tepid, like they were puppets going through the motions on a big set, but not quite able to stand on their own as lasting, memorable individuals.

Spice - one scene. I can't quite call it slow burn, as things never really burned.
Triggers - marital rape, talk of rape, violence, torture, gore, character death.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

I’m always on the lookout for a great found family story. and this one absolutely hit the spot for me! There’s just something about a ragtag group of misfits coming together on a journey that has me instantly reeled in.
I enjoyed the worldbuilding, unique magic system, the witch’s powers were interesting, it was a fantastic read, and I love how it wrapped up so nicely as a standalone!

Plot wise, it was really well executed. The pacing was a bit shaking in the beginning for me, but it held up towards the end, the stakes and tension were present.
I especially loved the characters. Each one was thoughtfully developed with depth and meaningful backstories that made me feel so connected to them.

I also appreciated how Khana’s trauma was handled with care. Watching her work through that pain and embark on her healing journey was great. And the romance? Sweet, tender, and perfectly slow burn. I loved how it wasn’t rushed; it gave me time to get really invested in them as a couple.
Most of all, I enjoyed how well this was written to give all the characters their own moments and somehow managed to wrap up the story in a well deserved ending. I’m deeply satisfied with this read and it was just a fun time.

Thank you @AngryRobots for this ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you NetGalley, C.M. Alongi and Angry Robot for the advanced reader copy. This book was a really good time. The way the witches magic works is unique and interesting, with them being able to use other people’s life force to heal others. The found family aspect of this book is strong, with almost a Mulan meets witches vibe to it. There are also a strong theme of the human condition and how the love we have for life and those around us what truly makes life worth living. I would absolutely recommend this book if you like witches, wars, immortal villains, and a band of rag tag people coming together and being stronger for it.

Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot for the ARC copy of this book! I enjoyed this storyline which is a tale of found family and healing about Khana who was stolen from her home and forced to be the Emporer’s concubine. She escapes and the story goes from there. Fast paced, great world building and emotional back stories. An engaging, powerful stand alone fantasy novel.

This book is beautifully written. It holds quite a lot of amazing levels of world building that are presented to us through our main character as she discovers how the new country she's going to is run. The magic system is utterly fascinating and has a give and take that some people would see as too steep of a price but others, those that seem to have no qualms, would absolutely take. The pain and the experiences are believable, the prejudices make sense to real life, and the plot is well executed.

What would you do if you were being hunted by an immortal emperor that wanted to keep you as a concubine? And that you had no choice in the matter and you were pretty sure he was going to kill you? I love Khana's entire journey of accepting what happened to her, growing from it, and building bonds that are so powerful and compelling. Sava is such an amazing character that as soon as he came into the scene I just wanted to hang out with him. He is so charismatic and warm and fantastic.

This is the first C. M. Alongi book that I've read but I will absolutely be reading more of them.

I thought the premise of the book was incredibly interesting. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for Death personified in any way. This book just ended up not being for me. Something about the writing style just didn't connect with me and made it hard for me to feel immersed in the story the way I wanted to be. I do think, however, that a lot of people ARE going to connect with and love this book!

Rating 3.5/5. Thanks to CM Alongi, Angryrobot and Netgalley for the eARC.

Overall, I found the world building and magic system to be quite interesting. Khana's journey working through her trauma had weight and was meaningful.

My biggest struggles came from the pacing as well as being connected with the characters. The characters clearly had a lot of depth and effort put into them but for some reason I just couldn't connect as well. I also found myself getting taken out of the narrative at times with it being somewhat historically minded fantasy but was written much more presently minded...if that makes sense.

I hope to come back and give it a reread in the future when my mind might more appreciative of it. I know some folks will really love it though.

3.5 stars.

as a standalone fantasy, this was pretty solid. the fmc Khana is a witch whose magic revolves around draining aji (life force), from people and the environment around her. i thought her abilities were interesting, especially since the aji can be used for different things: healing, reviving, weakening someone, etc. but each time Khana does this, she makes a trade with death.. therefore, she’s losing bits of herself the more she does it.

i love when death is personified, so i enjoyed that aspect of the story. the romance between Khana and Sava was also really beautiful— Khana has some sexual trauma due to being a concubine to the emperor (who’s also related to her🤢), and Sava is so intentional and patient with Khana because of this. he doesn’t push her into anything and offers his support in whatever way she may need it.. i loved them so much. the found family is another thing that stood out to me with this book, Khana’s friendship with Haz was platonic perfection. it was fun seeing Khana learn to be a soldier and not only depend on her witchy abilities too. my main issue with this one was really just the pacing.. it was very uneven, the beginning and end sections were so good but the middle kind of waned with the overflow of training sequences and sitting around. but even saying that, i still liked this a lot and thought it wrapped up nicely.

What a welcome surprise in the world of fantasy standalones!
I cannot express how happy I am that it's a standalone (after being disappointed by several books without knowing they are not a standalone...) and that it's good.

It had tropes that definitely got to me, most of all found family, which was done so well here. The story took care of Khana and all the side characters, not sidelining them at all but giving them a moment to shine and the opportunities for us to get invested in them. I'd even go to say that the author really took care of the way she wrote the entire story? There are no loose ends and the ending gives such satisfaction (although it will grip your heart a bit!)

This may be my fave read of the year so far! Solid 4.5 stars.

Really enjoyed this read! I particularly loved the relationship between FMC Khana and ‘Death’. It truly felt like a unique story with excellent world building for a standalone.

I did not give 5 stars as the pace felt quite slow in the middle in comparison to the start and end

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 0.5 🌶

The Witch Who Trades With Death is a fantasy novel with strong found family vibes. There's a war, an evil emporer, a ragtag group of underdogs who persevere against all odds, and a survivor learning to face her greatest fears. It gave strong Mulan vibes and was a good read, but I don't think I'm going to be screaming from the rooftops about this one.

It was slower paced than I prefer, giving it the feel of a book you'd pick up and read a couple chapters at a time rather than one you consume in a day or two.

If fantasy is your go to genre, and you like Mulan, I'd give it a go. It'll probably be more up your alley than mine.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

The Witch Who Trades with Death is a gripping story about Khana, who flees the immortal emperor she was forced to be a concubine for, and has to fight to remain free of his grasp.

"Give yourself the kindness of healing on your own terms.”


I hadn’t heard about this book before stumbling across it via the publishers newsletter and I was super intrigued by the synopsis of this book! Thankfully my request got approved and I could jump into this story!

The opening is done very strong and paints an immediate picture of the harsh live witches live under Emperor Yacatl’s rule, forced to do his bidding and having no free will. Khana’s escape and the events leading up to those were heartbreaking and heavy to read, but necessary to set the stage.

The plot was gripping, engaging and I loved getting lost in the many pages! While the pacing is slow and it doesn’t read as quick, I was never bored with the story and all that was happening! The writing was really discriptive, which I loved. I also liked the alternating POVs from different characters aside from Khana’s POV!

Khana is such a force to be reckoned with! She is still way too young for all that happened for her, but her character arc and growth is truly beautiful and inspiring to read! She becomes the awesome, courageous and strong woman she was meant to be by overcoming the many trials thrown in her path.

The found family trope was another beautifully written aspect in this book! Unit Nine of the Poison Dart Frogs stole my and Khana’s heart! It was amazing to see this bunch of strangers come together, fight together and love each other so fiercely! It truly showed how important it can be to have a strong support group surrounding you and helping you along in life.

I loved the ending and how it all wrapped up in the end! I had to told my heart there for a moment, tears in my eyes but the ending was beautiful and I am so glad it ended like it did! it made me smile and happy.

Overall, The Witch Who Trades with Death is truly an amazing story! it was addicting, captivating and shows a great journey of self-discovery.

A round of applause for this fantastic standalone fantasy.

My first thoughts when reading this book were about how well the author set up the story. We are given a full rundown of the Empire, the characters and the gods within the first few chapters and it didn't feel like to much or info dumpy. The writing is so smooth.

Khana is the main point of view throughout, with occasional chapters from others. She has had everyone she cares about ripped away from her, she is made a concubine and has to live at the whims of the emperor. She is raped and ostracised. Her magic is something she tries to avoid using, she hates it as it's what makes her valuable to the emperor. When she accidentally uncovers the secret of the emperor's immortality, she finally has what she needs to escape. But there is nowhere the emperor won't go to hunt her down.

Found family is one of my favourite tropes and this book did it so well. It's like the author took the trope and turboed it up to 100. Each character was fully fleshed out and i really enjoyed reading about them and watching them grow.
There is some romance, but it's not the most important part of the book, it doesn't overshadow the other characters at all. The friendships were the most important part of this story for me and the way they all helped each other at different stages of their lives really brought the characters to life.

The way this book deals with all kinds of grief and how it looks different for people was really well done. It was subtle and poignant. The way the story moves around what it means to be you and how even taking away one small memory can change who you are and how much of yourself you are willing to give up for power is brilliant.

The story flowed really well, the first half really setting the scene, forming friendships and learning about the characters and their trauma so that when we dived into the action the stakes were high and i was on the edge of my seat. There were so many important moments in the book that showed this group coming together, becoming friends and little things that were then mentioned throughout the second half to really show the feelings and depth of the characters and how far they have come. From the cliff diving to the symbol of the frog and how Khana's passion and love of music was what kept her sane throughout her life, nothing was mentioned or happened for no reason. It felt like every word and moment was intentional and there was zero filler.

The Witch who Trades with Death is an all round solid read. It has all my favourite tropes and I love that it's a stand-a-lone.

Thank you to Angry Robot and Netgalley for this arc

This was so wholesome, but it also had a tiny amount of delicious spice that still managed to feel soft and slow.
The characters were heart-warming, and the journey of self-worth and recovery was tender. It showed that people can heal from the worst things that they’ve experienced, even if sometimes it might take time and strength.
Khana is one of very few who have discovered how to trade with the god of death. In doing so, she's capable of healing others on an epic scale. She's even capable of the one secret Emperor Yamueto has guarded so carefully, she could potentially achieve or grant immortality. But is it worth it, when what she has to give is part of her soul.
Always check trigger/content warnings before reading, just because there is things that some people might not be okay reading

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

PLEASE CHECK ANY AND ALL TRIGGERS.

I was really surprised at the depth of the world and true darkness it contained. As a fan of the author, this was another solid read and did not leave me disappointed. It wrapped up nicely, though I did find the middle to be a bit long and I didn't feel as connected to the main characters then I usually am.

The Witch Who Trades with Death is a heavy novel. Following the story of a witch named Khana who escapes the Immortal Emperor and embarks on a journey of self-discovery, dealing with grief, and navigating the world she came from while reconciling the community and relationships that she is building. #TheWitchWhoTradesWithDeath explores mortality, power, choice and found family in a unique world. Fans of dark fantasy, philosophical dilemmas, and complex character arcs will find this novel to be a rewarding experience. Leaving me with the question; what would I trade to Death itself. Thank you @angryrobotbooks #netgally for the Advance Reader Copy @c.m.alongi congratulations on this amazing novel. I hope to see more set here soon! #netgalley #netgalleyarc #arc #thewitchwhotradeswithdeath #angryrobotbooks #books #reader #bibliophile #bookreview

Thank you to C.M. Alongi, Angry Robot, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of The Witch Who Trades With Death in exchange for my honest review.

The Witch Who Trades With Death is a story about survival and about fighting back even when every cell in your body is telling you not to. As a witch, Khana was forced to be a concubine to the immortal emperor, something that she hates with every ounce of her being. When something happens that forces Khana to run, she ends up over the mountains as a refugee in the only area that is outside of the emperor's control. However, Khana knows the emperor's secrets, and he is not willing to let her go so easily. Determined to save the town that reluctantly saved her, Khana goes to war and along the way, gains more than she could have ever expected.

I truly enjoyed this book. The first 15% or so was somewhat slow because it had to set the scene both currently and how we got to this point. There is a lot of backstory that is woven in well. However, it is not a quick read. Once you get past that backstory, though, this book quickly picks up. I loved the character development throughout the course of this book. As readers, we got to see Khana heal from her trauma, learn to trust herself, and learn to let herself both trust and love others. The development of the side characters was also amazing, and I loved seeing the underdogs save the day. There are so many great tropes that are found in this book, including found family. While there is potential for other books to happen in this world, and I would for sure read them, I really appreciated the fact that this book was a standalone. It made the journey so much more impactful. Sure, the plot could have dragged out and technically still could be, but I love the story as it is. It drew me in, and I cried for the characters and the family that Khana found. This is a story about survival and acceptance, both of which are necessary stories to tell.